The Road To The Bronx

They weren't clearing wall space at Cooperstown for Joe Torre before he took over as Yankees manager before the 1996 season.

``The one thing I've missed is the World Series,'' Torre said when the Yankees hired him Nov. 3, 1995. ``I'm in a position to get there with an organization that has a burning desire to win.''

He got there four times (1996, '98, '99, 2000) and won them all.

It wasn't always that way.

The Mets

Playing third base for the Mets when they fire manager Joe Frazier on May 31, 1977. He is player-manager for 18 days, then retires as a player.

The Mets finish third in 1976, but are never better than fourth under Torre, and that's during strike-shortened 1981. Problems develop with GM Frank Cashen over how players, including Lee Mazzilli, should be used and free agent signings that brought the Mets scrubs such as Mike Marshall.

With one game remaining in 1981, Torre and his staff are fired. Torre has one year left on his contract for $100,000, but his 420 losses with the Mets were more than even Casey Stengel. Torre is told the morning of the final game, but asks Cashen to allow him to finish.

The Braves

Three weeks after the Mets fire him, Braves owner Ted Turner offers Torre a three-year deal to manage his former team, despite front-office support for Eddie Haas, a longtime team loyalist.

The Braves start 13-0 in 1982 and win the NL West at 89-73. They are swept by the Cardinals in the LCS.

Torre signs a two-year extension on July 2, 1983, for $425,000. The team is second in 1983 and '84, finishing 12 games behind Padres in '84. Turner turns to Haas after the Braves lose 229 games under Torre

The Cardinals

After spending five years as an Angels broadcaster, Torre becomes manager of another of his former teams on July 6, 1990, when Whitey Herzog resigns after 10 seasons.

The Cards finish second in 1991 and third the next three seasons. By the start of 1995, some veterans are complaining that Torre's not fiery enough.

Cardinals GM Walt Jocketty fires Torre on June 16, 1995, with the team 20-27, replacing him with Mike Jorgensen, who played for Torre in New York in 1980-81. The Cardinals lose 354 games under Torre.